Ionia hazardous waste collection is Saturday

Monday

Apr 22, 2013 at 10:56 PM

'Great time to get rid of unwanted hazardous items'

Karen Botakaren.bota@sentinel-standard.com

Sometimes timing is everything. On the heels of the recent flood, the Ionia Conservation District will host its first of four springtime household hazardous waste (HHW) collections from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the HHW Collection Facility, 303 S. Jackson St. in Ionia. The collection is open to all Ionia County residents.

In addition to aiding residents with flood clean-up, this also is Earth Week and Arbor Day is Friday, so it is a great time to get rid of unwanted hazardous items, according to Melissa Eldridge, conservation district manager.

“What a good way to celebrate: clean it up and recycle,” Eldridge said. “We need clean water to live healthy, and this is just one way to keep those nasty things in our households out of the landfills, where there is the potential for them to enter our water system.”

A wide range of items will be accepted, including:

From the home and garage (such as batteries, devices containing mercury and automotive fluids),Pesticides (including insecticides, herbicides and rodenticides),Materials used for art, photography and other hobbies (such as glues, turpentine, gun cleaning solvents and artists’ paints),Pool chemicals,Home improvement products (such as oil-based paint, varnish and fluorescent light bulbs),Office and household electronics (such as microwaves, televisions, cell phones and toner cartridges),Computer components and accessories (such as desktop computers, keyboards and circuit boards).For a complete list, visit the Ionia Conservation District at www.ioniacd.org, click on “ICD Programs” and scroll down.

The conservation district asks that residents bring items in original or hand-labeled containers with the caps and lids fully tightened or secured, wrapped to guard against leakage and separated in a sturdy box.

Items not accepted include tires, explosives, ammunition, latex paint (as this can be dried out and disposed of in the regular trash), large appliances, medications and needles, radioactive waste (including smoke detectors), propane tanks over 2 pounds and empty containers. Contact the conservation district to learn how to dispose of these items.

Collections also are scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon May 4 at the Portland Fire Department, May 11 at Scheid Park in Saranac, and May 18 in the old hospital lot on M-44, 480 W. State St. in Belding.